By 25 News NORMAL – McLean County’s largest school district will be asking voters’ permission this fall to raise property taxes to reduce multi-million dollar structural deficits in the education fund. The Unit 5 School Board voted unanimously Wednesday for a referendum that asks for an increase in the district’s tax rate to $3.60 per…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Following the discovery of at least three staff members who had contracted COVID-19, the McLean County Museum of History will be shut down until further notice. The museum closed early on Tuesday, and a statement was issued following the positive tests. “We are concerned about risks to the public and…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – School is getting underway this week for many students in McLean County and the move-in process is still ongoing over at Illinois State University. Around 6,000 students will move-in to the dorms this week at ISU. Students started arriving to campus earlier this week and move-in continues through Aug. 21.…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A little boy was bit by a dog Tuesday afternoon on Bloomington’s east side. Bloomington Police confirmed a large dog attacked the child in the 1100 block of Chatham Lane, near East Empire Street. Police said the boy had severe lacerations, and family members took him to a Twin Cities…… MORE
By Blake Haas NORMAL – Connect Transit is on the cusp of five new electric buses thanks to a multi-million dollar grant. The grant also provides funding for electric vans and a new training facility. “We’ll be replacing aging diesel buses with electric buses,” Connect Transit General Manager David Braun said on the afternoon show.…… MORE
A jury took less than three hours to find Clifford Brewer guilty of all six counts of first-degree murder in the Christmas 2019 deaths of his wife, son and their family friend.… MORE
The Arby’s Foundation is donating over $10,000 to the Midwest Food Bank to end childhood hunger.… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.6 days suitable for field work during the week ending August 14, 2022. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 7 percent very short, 16 percent short, 64 percent adequate, and 13 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supply was rated 9 percent very short, 12 percent short, 71 percent adequate and 8…… MORE
By 25 News NORMAL – The Normal Town Council is accepting the federal government’s offer to provide additional funding as inflationary pressures are expected to increase the cost of an underpass in Uptown Normal. However, angry rhetoric preceded the council’s 5-1 vote to receive almost $3.16 million in federal money. Despite inflation worries, town leaders…… MORE
New testimony says a man accused of killing three people may be telling the truth about what happened.… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…